Jaipur: Child marriage will now be registered in Rajasthan. The Rajasthan Assembly passed the Marriage Registration Act on Friday (September 17, 2021). It also provides for the registration of child marriage. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Shanti Dhariwal while placing the bill in the House said that child marriage is being registered under the directions of the Supreme Court. The bill provides that if the girl is under 18 years of age and the boy is less than 21 years at the time of marriage, the parents will have to report it to the registration officer within 30 days.

In case of child marriage, the parents of the boy or girl will inform the registration officer of the prescribed details. Based on this, the registration officer will register child marriage. This has been provided in Section 8 of the Compulsory Registration of Marriages Act in the State. There was also a hue and cry in the Assembly over the controversial bill. Opposition MLAs in the Assembly said that when child marriage remains illegal, what is the need for registration and the purpose of bringing a bill. BJP accuses the Gehlot government of promoting child marriage. BJP demanded a division of votes on the bill in the Assembly and when the government refused, BJP members walked out of the House. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said registration of child marriage is like giving it legal recognition.

In response, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said that ''we are only registering. There is no such thing in this Bill that we recognize this marriage''. He said such marriages will remain illegal under the Child Marriage Act, 2006 in Rajasthan. As soon as they register, the collector will be free to take action. Dhariwal said the Supreme Court had in 2006 ruled in some against Ashwini Kumar's case that registration of all types of marriages would be mandatory. Registration of each marriage will be mandatory. Registration does not mean recognizing marriage. Dhariwal said that if a minor is married, he will have the right to cancel as soon as he is an adult. Several BJP MLAs opposed it, saying the new law of the Congress government is a blatant violation of the Sharda Act to prevent child marriage.

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